CBS 2 to Host New Jersey Governor's Debate

CBS 2 will host a debate with the two candidates for New Jersey governor.

The debate between incumbent Gov. Chris Christie, the Republican, and State Sen. Barbara Buono, the Democrat, will air Tuesday, October 8th at 7:00 p.m.

CBS 2 anchor and New Jersey resident Kristine Johnson will moderate.

"Women at the Top" Tomorrow Night

Kristine Johnson hosts "Women at the Top" tomorrow night at 7:00 on CBS 2. The hour-long special focuses on women who have found success in the areas of business, politics, finance and entertainment.

All this month, CBS 2 has been airing sponsored spots recognizing successful women for "Month of Women."

Thunder During the Weather

A strange noise was heard during the 11 p.m. weathercast tonight. After a puzzled look from Lonnie Quinn, Chris Wragge joked that it was thunder. Quinn laughed and agreed, saying, "Possibly thunder. This is why I love that Chris and Kristine." He then continued on with the forecast, making it clear there was no thunder expected tonight. It takes place about 1 minute, 50 seconds into this video.

Wrap-Up of Pope's Visit Coverage

CBS 2 News provided several additional hours of coverage, anchored by Chris Wragge and Kristine Johnson, of Pope Benedict XVI's visit to New York.

The station interrupted programming at around 9:30 Friday morning when "Shepherd One" landed at JFK International Airport about 15 minutes early. The coverage continued covering the pope's journey to the United Nations, where he addressed the General Assembly. Live reports included Hazel Sanchez at the UN (she mentioned at 5:00 that she had been there since 3:00 in the morning), Lou Young interviewing some lucky kids who got to meet the pope, Deborah Garcia at St. Patrick's Cathedral and Pablo Guzman in Yorkville (which has been dubbed "Little Germany"). Magee Hickey also provided a report from Washington with reaction from victims of the sexual abuse. The 5:00 newscast attempted to recap the day in a "regular" format but returned to live coverage when the pope visited Park East Synagogue, continuing until 6:30.

CBS 2's coverage resumed Saturday morning after "The Early Show." Wragge and Johnson's broadcast began just before 9:00 and covered the mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral, signing off at 10:12. They would return at around 1:15 to cover the pope's moving from St. Patrick's to the Papal Residence. CBS 2 went back to CBS Sports' LPGA golf coverage at 1:52. Wragge and Johnson anchored CBS 2 News at 6:00.

More coverage this morning began after CBS 2 News Sunday Morning. Wragge and Johnson came on at 9:00 and covered the Pope's visit to Ground Zero. They signed off at 10:14 and joined CBS News Sunday Morning (which was already in progress from a tape-delayed 10:00 start time). Coverage picked up again at 2:00 as the mass at Yankee Stadium got underway and was simulcast in Philadelphia on KYW-TV and in Boston over WSBK (a CBS-owned independent station). Mary Calvi and John Slattery provided live reports from around the field. This coverage lasted until 5:12, when CBS 2 returned to coverage of the Verizon Heritage golf tournament. The 6:30 newscast was also anchored by Wragge and Johnson and provided a wrap-up of the events of the past few days. The final special report aired from 8:00 - 8:42 as a JFK departure ceremony honored the pope.

All of the coverage was streamed live on wcbstv.com, where on-demand video from every day of coverage is also available.

Feel free to post additional special report times as it was difficult to keep up with all of the broadcasts!

CBS 2 News Covers Pope Benedict XVI's U.S. Arrival

Pope Benedict XVI's airplane arrived at Maryland's Andrews Air Force Base a few minutes ahead of schedule, pushing up CBS 2's coverage. Originally planned to start at 4:00 p.m., CBS 2's special report kicked off at 3:52, making it the first local station on the air (the others started at the top of the hour).

Chris Wragge and Kristine Johnson anchored the report and spoke over live video of the pope's arrival ceremony. They were joined at the desk by Father Joseph Chapel of Seton Hall University's Immaculate Conception Seminary. Mary Calvi reported live from Washington, D.C. in front of the Catholic University and spoke with Father Mike Russo, a professor at St. Mary's College. She was later joined by the Catholic University's Frank Persico. John Slattery also reported from Washington and Tony Aiello was live at St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, where the pope will visit Friday afternoon. The lower-third graphic during the live coverage provided all sorts of biographical and historical information but also reported that Pope Benedict XVI plays the piano, listens to Mozart and Beethoven, and is the first pope to own an iPod.

CBS 2 News at 5:00 began at its usual time (4:58) with a special pope-related opening. Calvi, Slattery and Aiello returned to provide live reports and Sean Hennessey also reported live from the Flatiron District with how the city's subways are stepping up security. Pablo Guzman, Jennifer McLogan and Scott Rapoport contributed packages related to the pope's New York visit. Lonnie Quinn came on in the third block of the newscast with an abbreviated weather forecast. After a recap of the papal top stories, the 5:30 half-hour covered the rest of the day's news. Lonnie Quinn's forecast at 5:50 included "Weather for Papal Visit," a summary of the weather for Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

At 6:00, Dana Tyler and Jim Rosenfield continued with more coverage of the pope. Calvi, Slattery and Hennessey were back with live reports and Hazel Sanchez, live at St. Patrick's Cathedral, joined the team. Rosenfield reported on the first time a pope visited the United States back in 1965, with appearances by Bill Plante and Harry Reasoner. It was the first time in recent memory that an entire black-and-white package has aired on CBS 2 News. The 6:00 newscast returned to the rest of the news in the second block.

Tuesday, March 18th, 2008 on CBS2-HD

Kate Sullivan and Steve Bartelstein anchored the news at noon today. Bartelstein joined Kristine Johnson for the news at 5. Don Dahler joined Kristine Johnson for the news at 6 and 11.

Ducis Rodgers announced the CBS2 Bracket Challenge, for March Madness, where the winner will receive a 40" flat screen TV. You can play against CBS2 personalities including Chris, Lonnie, Sam, Dana, Jim, Ducis, Kristine, John E, John D and Steve. Sign up here. So far, Sam thinks Georgetown will win it all, Ducis decided on Texas.

Steve Bartelstein shared a quick laugh with a tie-less Lonnie Quinn on CBS2 at your Desk at 3PM. Steve quipped that the best part of Tiger Woods buying a $65 million dollar Southampton home was that he was making Lonnie move out. Lonnie responded by saying "$65 Million? That's like your salary and my salary put together." The video is here.

Finally, Kristine signed off at 11 saying "Have a good night and a great tomorrow" a line that is similar to the sign-off of Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update: "Have a good night and a pleasant tomorrow."

More Spitzer Coverage

Chris Wragge anchored today's split edition of CBS 2 News at 5:00 from Albany while Kristine Johnson handled the rest of the day's news from the studio. The two also anchored another 30-minute 7:00 special, called "Spitzer Resigns," and will of course be on again tonight at 11:00.

Governor Eliot Spitzer's resignation is effective Monday at noon and that will presumably be when Lieutenant Governor David Paterson is sworn in. CBS 2 will likely cover that during the noon newscast.

Political reporter Andrew Kirtzman joined Campbell Brown on CNN's "Election Center" program tonight to talk about the Spitzer resignation and offered some insight on Paterson. This isn't Kirtzman's first time on CNN at 8:00 p.m. In fact, it was just about this time last year when he spoke with Paula Zahn about then-Republican front-runner Rudy Giuliani.

Updating a Story When It's on the Air

At 5:23, Kristine Johnson read a story about Geraldine Ferraro's comments that Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama wouldn't be where he is now if he were white. After bites from both Ferraro, who is a Hillary Clinton campaign member, and Obama, who talked about what it meant that Clinton was keeping her on the team, Johnson had more information. Click here for the video on wcbstv.com and watch at exactly 1:00 as Johnson announces the breaking news that Ferraro was stepping down from her position in Clinton's campaign.

CBS 2 News Covers Spitzer Prostitution Scandal

Jim Rosenfield broke in at 2:28 this afternoon with a minute-long special report to announce "a potential bombshell rocking New York politics at the very top." Sourcing The New York Times, Rosenfield reported that Governor Eliot Spitzer had told advisers that he was involved in a prostitution ring.

Rosenfield returned at 3:01 with exclusive word that, according to multiple sources, Spitzer would not be expected to remain as governor. He also mentioned that Spitzer was expected to make a public statement within a few minutes.

CBS 2 News broke in again at 3:11 minutes to carry Spizter's short statement via 1010 WINS-AM in which he apologized to the public and said that politics is about ideas, not individuals. A few minutes later, Rosenfield tossed to Marcia Kramer, who was live with more information from her sources in Albany. She was the first on the station's air to mention that Spitzer might be "Client #9" and said that rumors first began swirling last week. Rosenfield tossed from the newsroom at 3:25 to Chris Wragge in the studio. Wragge was joined by Andrew Kirtzman with analysis at the desk. This special report was 17 minutes long.

CBS 2 News at 5:00 with Wragge and Kristine Johnson covered the story with a team of reporters beginning with Lou Young at governor's office on East Side. Next up, CBS News correspondent Bob Orr, who broke the "Client #9" part of the story, joined Johnson live from Washington with more details. Kramer had more on what's next, John Slattery had New Yorkers' reactions from Times Square and Dave Carlin was in Brooklyn Heights with a closer look at The Emperors Club. At 6:00, Sean Hennessey profiled Lieutenant Governor David Paterson, the man who is next in line to replace Spitzer.

Wragge and Johnson returned with a special half-hour broadcast at 7:00. Young, Rosenfield, Kramer, Slattery and Hennessey all provided reports and Kirtzman was back in the studio with more analysis. Wragge and Johnson also spoke via phone with New York State Assemblyman James Tedisco, a Republican, who called for the governor to resign. Tom DeLuca, a Fordham University political science professor, was in the studio for more discussion. This broadcast was repeated on C-SPAN 2 at 8:30 and at around 9:10 on C-SPAN with the two commercial breaks taken out. It can be watched at wcbstv.com here: Part I, Part II.

LI Bureau to Move Into New Newsroom

Last night at the end of the 11:00 newscast, Chris Wragge and Kristine Johnson talked about a "new addition to the CBS 2 News team."

Hofstra University President Stuart Rabinowitz and School of Communication Dean Cybil Delgaudio unveil the NewsHub sign.

It's Hofstra University's converged newsroom, which was unveiled last night. The purpose of the new room, dubbed "NewsHub," is to put print, broadcast and online journalism students in the same area allowing for better integration of information.

Students demonstrate the technology in the new newsroom.

CBS 2 announced that its Long Island Bureau will soon be based out of NewsHub. The bureau is currently housed inside Hofstra's radio station, WRHU 88.7FM.

Dozens of people were on hand to watch NewsHub in action.

(Photo credit: NewsByte2 ... Full disclosure: This blogger is a journalism student at Hofstra.)

Holiday in Bryant Park

CBS 2 will air the Bryant Park Christmas tree lighting live tomorrow night. Chris Wragge and Kristine Johnson host the hour long special, "Holiday in Bryant Park," at 7:00. Lonnie Quinn will join them.

Up to 10,000 people are expected The Pond at Bryant Park to watch the performers, including Ben Vereen and Bebe Neuwirth.

In the station's press release, Peter Dunn, President and General Manager of WCBS-TV, says, "We wanted to bring our viewers an entertaining holiday program during this time of year, and with Bryant Park's various activities, shops, and visually appealing holiday atmosphere, it's the perfect partnership for our first Christmas tree lighting ceremony."

It's Wragge's Turn

His co-anchor was profiled earlier in the week and now Chris Wragge is in the spotlight. Richard Huff's piece, titled "Chris Wragge scores in his news role on Channel 2," comes a year after Wragge and Kristine Johnson became CBS 2 News anchors.

In the article, Wragge talks about having to work hard to gain viewers' trust and that there is a lot more work to do. "There's so much more preparation," he said. "The last thing I ever want to do is get caught with my pants down. I always want to be prepared."

He also admits that he loved being a sports anchor but "I love this 10 times more than I loved that."

Peter Dunn told Huff of the changes he's made in the last two years: "We're trying to make our product better. We're putting a better station on the air."

Johnson Profiled

The Record of Bergen, NJ ran a profile piece of Kristine Johnson yesterday as tomorrow marks one year since she and Chris Wragge became CBS 2 News anchors. Johnson discusses the faster pace of the 11:00 newscast, the station's new status as number two, and how she's able to balance work with raising her two young kids.

"Design Week" Airs Tomorrow

CBS 2 will air "Design Week," an hour long special produced with House and Garden Design Happening, tomorrow at 1 p.m. Chris Wragge and Kristine Johnson host the show and Mary Calvi, Kate McGee, Magee Hickey, Scott Rapoport and Alexis Christoforous will provide reports. For more information, click here for the press release.

CBS 2 Sponsors Two Charity Events This Weekend

It's going to be a busy morning for CBS 2 as the station is sponsoring a couple of walks/runs tomorrow.

Cindy Hsu and Jim Rosenfield will be at Battery Park for the JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes while Lonnie Quinn will take part in the walk at the Bronx Zoo.

Beginning at 10:00 tomorrow morning, Chris Wragge and Kristine Johnson will anchor live from the Tunnel to Towers Run. The press release says that Brendan Keefe and Lou Young will contribute reports while Dana Tyler has an interview with the widow of Stephen Siller, the heroic firefighter who inspired the walk. The hour-long broadcast will also be streamed live at wcbstv.com.

Both events will be covered during CBS 2 News Sunday Morning from 6:00 to 9:00. Elise Finch will provide weather reports from the site of the Tunnel to Towers Run, which begins at the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel.

Cindy Hsu Anchors From "Race For The Cure"

From 6:oo to 9:00 this morning, Cindy Hsu provided live reports from the Susan G. Komen Race For The Cure. Brendan Keefe anchored the rest of CBS 2 News Sunday Morning from the studio. Hsu was joined by breast cancer survivors and their families, some of whom were featured on last night's special.




At the end of the newscast, Hsu was joined by the rest of CBS 2's team participating in the event: Maurice DuBois, Kate Sullivan, Dana Tyler, Chris Wragge, Kristine Johnson, Lonnie Quinn, Tamsen Fadal and Dr. Holly Phillips.

CBS 2 Presents "Race For The Cure"

On the eve of this weekend's Susan G. Komen New York City Race for the Cure, CBS 2 News will air an hour-long special on breast cancer. "Race For The Cure" is hosted by morning anchors Maurice DuBois and Kate Sullivan and airs Saturday night at 7:00. According to the press release, the "inspirational hour" "highlights the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in New York City and takes a positive and encouraging look at breast cancer survivors and new advances in fighting the disease." Dr. Holly Phillips, Dr. Max Gomez, Dana Tyler, Cindy Hsu, Kristine Johnson, Tamsen Fadal and Katie McGee will also provide reports.

For the third year in a row, CBS 2 is the media sponsor of the 5K race, which takes place Sunday morning at 9:00. Check out two of the spots the station has been running for the cause here.

CBS 2 News Covers Steam Pipe Explosion

Jim Rosenfield broke the news on CBS 2 News at 6:08: Police were being called to 42nd Street between Lexington and 3rd Avenues after reports of underground explosions. They then returned to the regular newscast until 6:15 when the story was again reported and updated. At 6:19, Rosenfield and Dana Tyler conducted a phone interview with a spokesman for the Transit Authority. A live metrocam shot showing the steam billowing up into the skyline. That there was no reason to suspect terrorism was a point that was frequently made. This coverage remained sustained until 6:30, when the station aired the "CBS Evening News with Katie Couric."

CBS 2 News returned at 7 with two more hours of live coverage, anchored by Chris Wragge and Kristine Johnson. Reporters on the scene included Dave Carlin (via phone), Scott Weinberger (via phone), Sean Hennessey (via phone), Brendan Keefe and Pablo Guzman (on the phone at first but on camera later in the evening). Casualty numbers came in: One dead and at least 20 injured. At 8:21, CBS 2 went live to Mayor Michael Bloomberg's press conference, at which the mayor declared that the incident was the result of "a failure of our infrastructure" and not related to terrorism.

Wragge and Johnson Promoted to 11:00

Richard Huff breaks the news in today's Daily News: "Chris Wragge and Kristine Johnson on Monday will become the A-Team at WCBS/Ch. 2." The pair will trade in their noon anchoring duties for the 11:00 p.m. spot. Dana Tyler and Jim Rosenfield will move to noon.

Here are some of General Manager Peter Dunn's comments to the paper:
- "We've been trying to work on every newscast since we've been here. Everything we've done so far has been a benefit to the station."
- On recent ratings increases: "We just want to keep that momentum going. We have tremendous confidence in all our anchor teams, we just want to put them in the right time slot."
- On not wanting to rank his teams: "I would never put an A-C or C label, they're all very experienced. They all do a phenomenal job."

In other news, Dr. Max Gomez returns to Channel 2 as a freelance medical reporter, while Dr. Holly Phillips will remain the station's lead reporter on that front.

Johnson Returns to CBS 2 News at Noon

Kristine Johnson returned as the anchor of CBS 2 News at Noon today, about one month after she returned to CBS 2 News at 5:00. Johnson, who gave birth to a son in March, anchored her last noon newscast on February 20 but remained on the 5:00 newscast until going on maternity leave March 1. She returned to CBS 2 News at 5:00 from maternity leave on April 23, just in time for May Sweeps, but Johnson did not return to CBS 2 News at Noon. At the time, the station told the Daily News that Johnson would "eventually" return to the noon newscast.

During Johnson's three month absence from CBS 2 News at Noon, co-anchor Chris Wragge anchored the half-hour newscast solo. Wragge was off today, so Johnson anchored solo. The only allusion to Johnson's return came when Money Watch reporter Alexis Christoforous welcomed her back to the noon newscast.